CHP: Sutter County deputy killed in drunken driving crash

Deputy was off-duty, riding with someone accused of DUI

The Sutter County Sheriff’s Department lost one of its deputies Wednesday night in a suspected drunken driving crash near Smartsville.

Highway patrol officers said the deputy was riding in a car driven by a drunken driver.

The deputy, Rory Roguski, 25, was found dead at the scene, said California Highway Patrol Officer Jodie Beck.

The driver, Erin Marie Jasper, 26, was hospitalized and is expected to survive, Beck said.

Spray paint used by officers investigating the crash still marked the scene Thursday, on Highway 20 at McGanney Lane, near Smartsville in Yuba County.

An orange “X” was sprayed on the rock wall that officers said Jasper’s Ford Mustang crashed into. She lost control of the car in the westbound lane of the highway, veered to the right, over-corrected and drove across both lanes of traffic before finally crashing into the wall, according to a CHP collision report.

Neither Roguski nor Jasper were wearing seatbelts, Beck said, adding to the circumstances that made the crash troublesome to law enforcement officers who knew Roguski.

“As law enforcement, we’re supposed to be held to higher levels,” Beck said. “We know. This is what we do, prevent drunk driving, and seat belts. And unfortunately, those both played factors in last night’s fatality.”

Little information was available about Jasper, or about where she and Roguski were coming from or going at the time of the crash.

At the Sutter County Sheriff’s Department in Yuba City, Sheriff J. Paul Parker said his department were shocked to hear the news of Roguski’s death.

“It hammers home the fact that none of us are immune to this type of thing, whether you’re a deputy, part of our family or part of anybody’s family,” Parker said.

“To lose somebody at 25 years old, when they got their entire life in front of them is just a tragedy,” he said.

Parker said Roguski had begun as a reserve deputy about three years ago, riding with other deputies on patrol. However, in July, he was sworn in as a full-time officer, Parker said.

“He was a good kid,” Parker said. “Everybody liked him … Big kid, you know, six foot three inches, weighing about 230 pounds.”

Jasper faces charges of felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.

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